Last week BMW unveiled the BMW 550i xDrive Gran Turismo at the Beijing Auto Show->ke2062 and today the company announced that the same xDrive system will also be offered for the 740d luxury sedan. The 740d model will not be the first in BMW's 7-series to acquire the latest of BMW's technology. The BMW 750i xDrive and the BMW 750Li xDrive piloted the technology about a year ago.

The BMW 740d xDrive combines BMW TwinPower Turbo Technology with common-rail direct fuel injection and delivers an impressive 306 hp with a peak torque of 442 lb-ft maintained consistently between 1,500 and 2,500 rpm.

BMW's xDrive distributes driver power between the front and rear axles maximizing the force and creating the best possible traction and agility. It works in conjunction with the Dynamic Stability Control system which monitors road conditions. We can't imagine this technology won't be in all of BMW's models eventually. As the pressure for smaller cars and bigger power escalates, automakers will have to make use of all the power they can to satisfy the "have your cake and eat it to" mindsight established in the hearts and minds of people everywhere.

Press release after the jump.

2010 BMW 740d xDrive

Specifications
  • Make: Array
  • Model: 2010 BMW 740d xDrive
  • [do not use] Vehicle Model: Array

Press release

With the top-of-the-range BMW 750i xDrive and BMW 750Li xDrive already introducing BMW’s intelligent all-wheel-drive system in the 2010 model year in the 7 Series, the BMW 740d xDrive is making its appearance in September.

With its all-aluminium power unit, the BMW 740d xDrive boasts BMW TwinPower Turbo Technology as well as common-rail direct fuel injection with its piezo-injectors operating at a pressure of up to 2,000 bar. Maximum output, as a result, is 225 kW/306 hp, with peak torque of 600 Newton-metres/442 lb-ft maintained consistently between 1,500 and 2,500 rpm.

Permanent, electronically controlled all-wheel drive ensures exactly the right distribution of engine power under all driving conditions. Precise and quick drive power control, finally, gives this supreme luxury sedan absolutely safe and incomparable driving behaviour at all times.                     

Originally BMW’s intelligent xDrive all-wheel-drive technology was conceived for the BMW X models, then being introduced step-by-step in the BMW 5 Series, the BMW 3 Series, and the BMW 7 Series. The big forte of this superior technology is its uniquely precise control and engine management helping to optimise traction on rough surfaces and at the same time deliver supreme driving dynamics to the road.

The system stands out as a particularly intelligent all-wheel-drive technology by distributing drive power through a power divider with an electronically controlled multiple-plate clutch in exactly the right way and properly dosed to the correct axle and wheels with optimum road contact at any given point in time.

Featuring this superior system, BMW xDrive enhances driving stability also in dynamic bends by recognising even the slightest tendency to over- and understeer at an early point and taking appropriate counter-action right away.